Labour suspends seven MPs who rebelled against cap on two-child allowance | Politics news

Richard Burgon, John McDonnell, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum, Zarah Sultana, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Ian Byrne were disqualified from the whip for six months, after which the decision will be reviewed.

Seven Labour MPs were suspended from their party after voting against the government’s proposal to abolish the cap on two-child benefit.

Richard Burgon, John McDonnell, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum, Zarah Sultana, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Ian Byrne were disqualified from the whip for six months, after which the decision will be reviewed.

The Work The rebels joined the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, Plaid Cymru, the SDLP, the Alliance Party and independent MPs such as Jeremy Corbyn in voting for an amendment to the King’s Speech proposed by the SNP.

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With a majority of over 174 votes, Sir Keir Starmer managed to crush the uprising by 363 votes to 103.

In the run-up to the vote, it was reported that the rebellion could include dozens of members – before rumors of impending suspensions emerged.

Responding to her suspension, Ms Sultana said: “I have been informed by the Labour Party leader that I have been stripped of my leadership because I voted to remove the cap on the two-child benefit, which would lift 330,000 children out of poverty.”

“I will always stand up for the weakest in our society.”

A Labour MP who campaigned against the two-child limit – but voted with the Government tonight – said she did so because she believed “the Government is fully committed to delivering for children living in poverty”.

A Labour source told Sky News political editor Beth Rigby The decision was taken “to show that we expect Labour MPs to support the programme on which we were elected”.

Mr McDonnell was a notorious rebel under previous Labour governments.

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What is the two-child allowance limit?

In short, with few exceptions, the measure prevents parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credit for a third child.

The cap was introduced in 2015 by then Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne as part of a series of changes to the benefits system, but did not come into force until April 2017.

The amount of the childcare allowance depends on the family’s income, family size and childcare costs.

However, the cap is blamed for the rise in child poverty in the UK.

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Sir Keir had previously said that the cap should be abolished, but he made a U-turn last year Given the financial situation, Labour would have inherited the power in the event of an election victory.

There had been signs of a change in position when Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told Sky News on Monday that the government was “considering” lifting the cap, even though it would be a “very costly measure”.

It is estimated that scrapping would cost around £3 billion.